Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1887-12-16
THE CHINESE SORROW.
MIsery That VIII surpaau
the Fameus Famine.
rAs yellow River IsaSes IN s.aas and
T4aafsru = Pupalela Valley
iasoa Dssaly LAks.

SAN FRksrBuo. Dss. 1Ss-Ths Steam
ship Olsy Of sydney arrived In this ciay
this afteFnoon ffom Hnnahun9 and
Yokohama Chinese papers QiPs the
oetails Of disaster ooozsiuned bY tie
yellow river evGxd 1wina ils banks Il fhe
provinces ok Honan. and desoEibs is as
ons Of The mCsl app4llinR occurrences
u the los Of life and property recorded
Ia reeen8 timea. Tha river brnka iip
hanks On The evening Of Ssplsnhes s.
nnd noe Only c0mplelaly inundated thai
city bat also ten other popnlous oities.
Ihe whole aEea 3 now 9 raging sea ten
% thEee feet deep, WhaRe 10 cnca vas q
dense1y populated and rich CLAIM. TIE
former bed of Yellow river Is noz drv.
and the present iake was The bed of ths
river oenAuriea aRo. The loss Of lifs "a
incalnnlAhle and the Statement 4 made
b. tha missionaries that miiIians Of
Chinese are homeless and slarVinR.
Thomas Patton, ons az she American
mfssionaFiea. writing from ths Honan
province under dale Of OctobsE S. aays;
Ihe neHlY gathered crops Of herbs and
trees aEe all sweps away, involving q
fearful less 01 life. The countKy vas
covered with dne winter braid which is
gone, and this implies 9 complete de-
siFuoticn Of next yeaR's crop.
" Bread BFsadr Il the cry Of thou
sands Who are on the river banks. The
benevolsnt 90 Ia boats and throw bread
among The masses here and there. but Il
g nothing compared uith the require
me1ts. The mass Of people is still be-
lng increased by continual arrivals even
more hungry than the last. There they
Iit stranded hungry and detected. with |
1ut rag 70 wear er q moEseI Of food, |
Nat huta are being erected for them 10 |
Ibe vest of this place, bat what u viii Be |
a tWo months kcaun0t conceive. Misery /
& increased owing 70 the bitter cold |
The Yellew river has lene been known |
u the s'China's SoErow." and the pFea-
mt disaster has served 10 reasseEt iia /
light 10 the terrible title. As vet the /
ietails Of the disaster are very moeCre. /
It has occurred Ia q diatKies who're bat |
lew foreigners are, and the Fep0Fta fur
aiGhed BY tha officials and published IN /
he Pekine Gazette convey q very made
luate idea OF the extent Of the loss OF |
ife and property and The s1ferings Of
he survivors.
The governor In Honan reports 10 The
hRone that nearly all the people have
,een drowned In the distrief reached by
he wafer, the survivors being thosa
Eho escaped 10 hiEh ground or took
'efuge IN trees, where they remained
Until they were rescued. This gives but |
little impression as to the extent Of the
disaster.
The Chinese T1mss states that IN prov.
noe Chilli, where disastrous inunda-
ions have also occurred, there are go.
90 people homeless, representing these /
shcee lives were saved out Of fully 500 /
Fillages destroyed, .and it adds that |
misery IN that provinces IL trihnR COM
Jared with that caused BY the Hunna |
30 or Yellow River hood. The extent /
II ground swept over By the overwhelm.
ne foods, given Ia English figures, h |
Jver 1000 square miles, and the land 1
Ihus submerged formed q part cf one Of /
he richest and most denaely populated 1
claims In northern China. The neosasi- /
y for liberal aid may therefore be m
sgiued.
Already considerable sums have been |
,ontribuied towards the relief Of the /
The emperor OF China hae /
Iiven 100000 taels, and The Chinese
8AN4AA-A4
shanghai, to which foreigners have 1
literally contributed. Millions have
,een rendered honseless and entirely
deprived OF all chances Of earning
livelihood, for their fields viii either
'ecome permanent lake or an unin-
labllahie swamp. Il Is feared that the
distress which viii be felt dzring the
'ominR winter viii equal In intensity
be famine Of ten years ago, vhen
haritable donations contributed from
II parts Of the world we're utterly in
Idequate.
It is stated that owing 70 the action
AIKEN By the Yellow river Il no longer
lows toward the sea, but seems content
q converting eastern Honan And north
~ Nyanwhin into lake. II may ulti-
nately Gov into the sea through Kiang
10, or ID may possibly join the XanRtsRe.